1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanner, and more particularly, to a scanner that can input various symbols to control operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art scanner 10. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the scanner 10 shown in FIG. 1. The scanner 10 includes a housing 12, a control circuit 14 positioned in the housing 12 that is used to control the operations of the scanner 10, a scanning module 16 positioned in the housing 12 and electrically connected to the control circuit 14, the scanning module 16 being used to scan a document and generate associated document image signals, a user interface 20 positioned on the housing 12 and electrically connected to the control circuit 14, and a display panel 22 positioned on the surface of the housing 12 and electrically connected to the control unit 14, the display panel 22 being used to display information from the control circuit 14. The user interface 20 includes a plurality of buttons 21, which are used to provide input signals.
The control circuit 14 includes a memory 24 for storing programs and data, and a processor 26 for executing the programs stored in the memory 24. The programs stored in the memory 24 include an operating system 28 for managing program operations of the processor 26, a scan control program 30 executing under the operating system 28, the scan control program 30 controlling the operations of the scanning module 16 and processing the document image signals generated by the scanning module 16, a user interface control program 32 executing under the operating system 28 that controls the operations of the user interface, a panel control program 34 executing under the operating system 28 that controls the operations of the display panel 22, and an application program 36 executing under the operating system 28, the application program 36 using the display panel 22 to display button signals entered by the user, or to display associated control information generated by the operating system 34, and using the associated input signal generated by the user interface control program 32 to set up an operating mode of the scan control program 30 and to determine a processing procedure of the document image signals.
The control circuit 14 uses the associated input signal generated by the user interface 20 to control the operations of the scanner 10 and to display the button signals entered by the user, or to display associated control information on the display panel 22. Because space on the housing 12 is limited, only a few buttons can be set on the housing 12, and so users cannot input proofreading symbols, alpha-numeric symbols, or special symbols to execute specific functions, such as proofreading processing. However, with the growth of networking technology, more and more users desire a scanner with networking functionality. In this manner they can convey scanned image information to other machines via the Internet or a local network. The information could be delivered, for example, to an e-mail address. Network addresses include a variety of symbols, such as English characters, numeric symbols, special symbols (xe2x80x9c@xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c.xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c_xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cxe2x88x92xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c:xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c/xe2x80x9d . . . etc.), or specific function keys. Thus, a scanner that can input various symbols is a basic requirement for connecting to a network.
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide a scanner that can input various symbols so as to solve the above-mentioned problems.
In a preferred embodiment, the scanner includes a housing, a control circuit positioned in the housing, the control circuit being used to control the operations of the scanner, a scanning module positioned in the housing and electrically connected to the control circuit, the scanning module being used to scan a document and generate associated document image signals, and an input device positioned on the housing and electrically connected to the control circuit. The input device may be a microphone, a touch-sensitive panel, or an input display panel, and is used to input proofreading symbols, alpha-numeric symbols, or special symbols to generate an associated input signal. The control circuit uses these input signals to control the scanner.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.